Reefing system
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorJon T. Matsuo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A reefing system to delay the development of a parachute wing is disclosed. single line system in conjunction with a slider and a two line system are described.
Claims11
In a ram-air parachute wing having a canopy having an upper and a lower support surface attached to and separated by a plurality of ribs shaped to form said upper and lower wing surfaces into an airfoil configuration, an improved reefing system comprising:
- a first plurality of attachment means connected to said upper support surface at spaced points about the leading edge of the parachute wing thereof;
- a second plurality of attachment means connected to said lower support surface at spaced points about the periphery of the parachute wing thereof;
- a first reefing line connecting individual ones of said first plurality of attachment means with individual ones of said second plurality of attachment means in a predetermined pattern;
- a second reefing line connecting individual ones of said second plurality of attachment means in a predetermined pattern;
- a first line cutting means connected to said first reefing line for the severing thereof at a predetermined time;
- and
- a second line cutting means connected to said second reefing line for the severing thereof at a predetermined time, whereby said parachute wing may be deployed to open in stages so as to facilitate parachute development at relatively higher airspeeds than parachute wings of a similar type bereft of such a reefing system.
In a ram-air parachute having an upper support surface and a lower support surface spaced apart by a plurality of ribs configured to provide a plurality of ram-air filled cells, a reefing system comprising:
- a first plurality of attachment means on the periphery of said upper surface at the junction of a first series of selected ones of said ribs therewith for passing of a line therethrough;
- a second plurality of attachment means on the periphery of said lower support surface and at the junction of a second series of selected ones of said ribs different than said first series for passing a line therethrough;
- a slider having an attachment means thereon;
- a reefing line passing through said first and second plurality of attachment means and through the attachment means on said slider and having a length to close said ram-air filled cells along said periphery and to restrain motion of said slider;
- and
- cutting means held on said reefing line and operative to sever said reefing line at a predetermined time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.